To me, Maria is a person not unlike myself — a Latina who also struggles under the pressure of Marianisma and the need to present a perfect and polished figure. Tragically in the traditional myth, Maria never gets help and breaks under that pressure.
- Julianna Rubio Slager, Choreographer
La Llorona
Choreography by Julianna Rubio Slager (2024–25)
One-Act Ballet | 75 Minutes | Inspired by the Mexican Legend
La Llorona reinvents the haunting Mexican myth of the Weeping Woman, transforming legend into a deeply human journey of motherhood, mental health, and cultural resonance.
Set across 75 evocative minutes, the ballet follows María, a new mother wrestling with suspicion, betrayal, and postpartum despair. Drawn into the myth not by supernatural forces but by the raw ache of her mind and heart, María drifts between reality and folklore—her grief rendered through movement as primal as it is poetic.
As a Chicana and mother, I saw in María’s experience a story too often left unspoken: the silent pain of postpartum depression, the isolation of women, especially Latina moms, who are told to suffer in silence. Through vivid choreography, traditional motifs, and a bold narrative arc, La Llorona gives voice to that hidden sorrow—and lights a path toward healing and understanding.
Audiences witness how María’s internal struggle becomes outward legend: the water’s edge, the ghostly wail, the cultural pressure to appear “okay.” But beneath it all is a mother crying for a way back to herself—and to her children.
La Llorona is for anyone who’s felt pulled apart by expectations—who’s walked the line between myth and reality, community and self, pain and hope. It’s a work that honors ancestral folklore, reckons with modern truths, and ultimately offers redemption: understanding, compassion, and the power of sharing our stories.
According to the NIH, 6.5-20% of new mothers face this silent struggle due to a lack of awareness hindering them from seeking help. Choreographer Julianna Rubio Slager, a mother of three, intimately understands these challenges. In her latest work, La Llorona, she reimagines the Mexican myth through a compassionate modern lens.
The premiere of La Llorona in October of 2024 was presented by the National Museum of Mexican Art and Raices Story Coalition.
